Christine de Pizan

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Toni Morrison (born 18 February 1931)

Today is Toni Morrison's birthday. Her many honors include a Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012), recognition with the French Légion d'honneur (2010), the Pulitzer Prize (1988), and, as noted in the headline of this post, a Nobel Prize in Literature (1993).

Morrison at a 2008 tribute to Chinua Achebe
and his Things Fall Apart

Among her most well-known novels are The Bluest Eye (1970), Beloved (1987), and, most recently, Home (2012).

The best way to celebrate Morrison's birthday is, of course, to read one of her novels--she herself recently described her reading (or rereading) of The Bluest Eye on The Colbert Report. It was a wonderful interview--funny and insightful--and you can watch it by clicking here.

You can read Morrison's Nobel lecture and listen to an audio recording of the lecture by clicking here. The Nobel site also includes biographical and bibliographical information, as well as excerpts from her work and a photo gallery.